for all those passionate throes until now, left unsung, about music

Monthly Archives: April 2012

For a while now, I’ve had a running joke with a friend or two of mine: I hate the Eagles.

It started one day when I went on a rant about songs I wouldn’t care if I NEVER, EVER heard again in the sum of my days. “Hotel California” was one of those numbers.

Recently, I set out to disprove myself. I don’t really hate anything. Hate is a strong word. Well, I might hate liver. Eww. But sometimes when something causes a strong reaction within us it’s worth reexamining. So, I said to my friend, Stephanie, “I challenge you to make me a mix CD of the Eagles, complete with ‘Hotel California.’ I will listen patiently and with no bias.”

Stephanie happens to be a mix tape master. This reexamination was prompted by an Eagles reference, actually. We were talking about how some people don’t know how lucky they are and how they should stop pissing and moaning about EVERY LITTLE THING EVER. They will do this, as you may know. “Get OVER IT!” I exclaimed. “Okay, The Eagles,” Stephanie chided.

“Oh, that is The Eagles, isn’t it?” Indeed. It’s also a brilliant number, and a good way to start a mix CD of the Eagles. It brightened my morning commute. (Disclaimer: I did not say those negative nellies were colleagues.)

When Rachael was seven or eight, she happened to love “End of the Innocence” “The Boys of Summer” and “Last Worthless Evening.” While a man’s solo career can vary greatly from his work with a rock band, it’s hard to dispute that you don’t like the Eagles when you, and your inner child, loved Don Henley.

I took this into heavy consideration. Then, I heard “Love Will Keep Us Alive.” I’d chocked that song up to Fleetwood Mac or some such thing. I was always fond of it but never realized it was The Eagles. But what really got me was, “Learn to Be Still.” In it, he sings, “I’m asking, ‘how do I get out of here?’ or ‘Where do I fit in?'” It’s been a resounding question in my life lately.

Somewhere in the middle of the mix was this:

An acoustic version of Hotel California. I knew it was coming. I tried not to cringe. And by the chorus, with windows rolled down, I was belting it out.

Okay, not really. But I did enjoy it. By the next day, I held my right hand up in front of Steph and said, “I, Rachael Goetzke, not only LIKE the Eagles…but…I think I might love them.”

Is there a band you’ve had a love-hate relationship with? Do tell me all about it.

I wasn’t running late for work that day, earlier this week. I was on time. But there are certain songs that require a full listen, especially when they are granted to you via a random radio play. I heard the beginning of “You Get What You Give” by the New Radicals. (You know, the “you’ve got the music in you” song.) If there ever was an anthem for me, the chorus of this song would be it. Immediately upon hearing the first notes, I exclaimed, to no one, unless you count the bobble-head giraffe or pink flamingo beanie baby that reside in my car, “I don’t care if I’m late for work; I’m going to listen to this whole song!!!”

I’m a firm believer in letting a song have it’s full running time, and often, like poetry, giving it appropriate silences to resonate. I’m the same way with movies. Once I’m in the zone, please leave me there! Maybe I’m just not a fan of interruptions.

One of my greatest pet peeves is when the DJ interrupts the song, either beginning or end. For example, no one EVER lets Eddie finish the spoken/mumbled “I’m dead” part at the end of “Even Flow.” Every DJ I’ve ever listened to has cut the final, haunting drum taps from Third Eye Blind’s “Jumper” Often, the Counting Crows’ “Long December” gets gypped from the “yeahs” at the end that a friends’ mom once said sounded like cats meowing softly. Even so.